


Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

by GreyPandora



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bi, Cannon up to POA, Male-Female Friendship, Original Character-centric, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Snape has a kid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29302254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyPandora/pseuds/GreyPandora
Summary: Attending Hogwarts can be exhausting. Attending Hogwarts while being the daughter of the school's Potions Master can be very exhausting. Attending Hogwarts while being the daughter of the school's Potions Master as Voldemort begins to slowly return to power...Well, exhausting doesn't even to cover it.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue: The Daughter

(June 1989)

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The sound of the analog clock echoed loudly in the empty hallway, grinding in her ears like a chisel. She tried to drown out the mind-infesting sound by rolling her skateboard back and forth with her foot as she sat in an itchy office chair. But no matter how hard she dug her foot into her board, it did not create a sound loud enough to cover the clock's endless noise.

Eve Peters looked up to stare at the hall clock in frustration, wishing for silence. Wishing she wasn't in this stupid hallway, in this stupid building, waiting for her entire life to change. She was about to meet her biological father.

Then it stopped. The clock had ceased functioning as though fearing the girl's rage. The second hand now frozen between the 2 and 3 and it was now blissfully quiet. Eve sighed with relief, but instinctively clutched her backpack, a little worried that something else strange might happen to the clock. But nothing did.

Eve chewed on her lower lip as she tried to piece together the erratic thoughts that buzzed through her mind. Before the accident, it had always been her and her mother. No grandparents, no aunts or uncles, and no father. Just Renee and Eve, the mother-daughter duo. Obviously, Eve had known she had a father- she was ten years old after all - and she understood basic biology, but she had never met him. Her mother never spoke of him. She did not know his name or what he looked like, and had always assumed that he had died or something.

A few paper birds flew past her, their parchment wings rustling as they flapped down the long hallway. Had she seen the spectacle a week ago, Eve would have leapt away in fear of their unnatural quality. However, she had learned a lot in the past seven days when her foster care counselor handed over her case to counselor Gary Kowalski, who had a knack for handling "special cases" like her.

She had always had a feeling that there was something different about her as strange things tended to happen around Eve ever since she could remember, but she had always had a logical explanation for them. Toys that her mother had taken from her when she had gotten in trouble always appeared back in her toy box a minute later, locked doors would mysteriously unlock when she jiggled the handles enough, and small cuts and bruises had somehow disappeared after falling off her skateboard. It wasn't until after the accident that the bizarre incidents had increased in both frequency and scale after Eve had somehow ended up outside of the car her mother had been driving when that drunk driver hit them head on.

The strange events had only escalated when she was put into the care of the Jensen family. Eve had not gotten on well with the family, especially Mrs. Jensen and her oldest son. They were mean to her, treating her as an unwanted outsider in their home. In the short time that she had lived with them there had been two basement floods, an ant infestation, and the disappearance of several of the family's belongings. Each of those events had happened after Eve had a fight with the older boy or his mother. She was not the only one who made that connection. Even though there was never any evidence that Eve had caused these things to happen, Mrs. Jensen had become convinced that she was the spawn of the devil and the cause of their misfortune. Everything had come to a head when all their kitchen windows exploded after the Jensen boy tore up her math homework.

When Ms. Gary Kowalski took over her case, not only had Eve been removed from the insane foster family, but she had also introduced her to the world of magic and to the fact that her father was alive and a member of this magical society. Eve had always prided herself in being a practical and logical child and had never played with the idea of magic as a reality, but upon staying with Gary for the past week, her views on magic and entered the world's reality. It was both incredible and terrifying at the same time.

Gary Kowalski had been both supportive and incredibly sympathetic towards Eve - which she supposed was what made her such a successful counselor - and the older woman berated the broken system for finding orphaned magical children.

"Normally we are able to find No-Maj-borns or other magical children in time to find them suitable arrangements with magical families when they have nowhere else to go, as their names are on the Ilvermorny Registry from the time they are born." She had explained to an exhausted Eve on her first night in this bizarre world. "But for those with magical parentage outside of the states, they are usually registered in their home country. Lucky, Albus Dumbledore is far more cooperative than other schools, and I was able to get your Hogwarts Registry information rather quickly. It was amazing luck we also happened to find your father - apparently you look just like him - turns out he works for Dumbledore as a teacher... "

Eve had to stop her counselor for the millionth time that day so that she could explain what Ilvermorny and Hogwarts were, or who Dumbledore was. Gary had to backtrack and explain that they were two of many magical schools, and Dumbledore was the headmaster of Hogwarts. Eve's would-be excitement of magical schools was weighed down by the knowledge of her father. She had no idea what he was like, or what having a dad was like, and the idea made her more nervous than excited.

That sensation filled her in waves throughout the week as arrangements and plans were made. Eve tried to busy herself with all of the books on magic in Gary's home and office (after all, she had a lot to learn) but her nerves would catch up with her making it hard to absorb any information she came across.

Her nerves had increased tenfold as Eve now sat in the hall of the American Magical Adoption Agency and even with the absence of the ticking clock, her leg frantically pushed and pulled the skateboard back and forth. Back. And forth.

"Eve?" the girl jumped at Gary's voice, launching her skateboard out of her foot's reach. Despite the heavy looking oak door, the woman had managed to open it without making a sound.

'Another form of magic.' Eve thought to herself as she stood up to retrieve it, still shaking a little.

"Yes?" she tried to answer in her most composed voice.

"I'm sorry if I surprised you," Gary smiled sympathetically. "Would you like to come in now?"

Eve found herself nodding as she fiddled with the hem of her lilac blouse that lay just over her grey skirt - apparel that she never would have picked out herself - it was far too girly for her tastes, but she had to look "presentable" according to her counselor. Eve didn't necessarily disagree with this approach, but topping the ensemble off with Mary Janes and lace-lined socks had been enough to put her in a foul mood with her Garyall morning. The woman's idea of presentable clothing was something a five-year-old would wear.

Picking up her skateboard, Eve forced herself to walk forward. Gary stopped her at the door, tucking a strand of Eve's dark hair behind her ear. She gave the woman a withering look, only to receive an impish grin in return. Gary Kowalski never seemed to be bothered by any negative emotion Eve could dish up. Eve stepped inside the woman's office with hesitation and Gary took the opportunity to guide her inside.

"Eve, this is your father…"

"No kidding."

The thought jumped in her mind. They shared the same near-sickly pale complexion. The same boney frame. The same fine black hair and dark eyes. Eve could have been his shrunken clone if her nose was longer and slightly hooked - and she was very glad it wasn't - but their similarities were still eerily striking. A paternity test really must have been more of a formality than anything else.

"Severus Snape."


	2. The Gloomy Train Ride

(September 1993)

The train's whistle blew, jolting Eve awake. She peeled her cheek off of the compartment window where she had nodded off earlier. It was currently raining, creating a gloomy atmosphere on a usually exciting day.

"Mmmm… Sorry, looks like I fell asleep," she said, stretching her arms over her head.

"Oh, it's okay," the boy sitting across from her said with a buck-toothed smile. "I wanted to catch up on some reading anyways." He held up a copy of "Rare Sentient Plants of the Himalayas."

"There is something about train rides that just make me pass out." She explained as the boy continued grinning and snickered slightly.

"What?"

"They also make you snore."

Eve felt her face grow hot.

"How mortifying." She thought to herself before responding.

"Bull!"

"I-it's not loud or anything. Just barely audible…" She could see that her friend had grown flustered by her ire. Eve's expression softened; he was a sensitive person and sometimes she forgot how easily harsh tones affected him.

"I'm only taking the mickey. I know I snore."

"Well, well. Look who finally decided to join the living." A familiar voice said from the compartment entrance. They turned to see George Weasley as he strolled in and flopped onto the seat beside her.

"We were so tempted to change your hair color…" Fred, his identical twin continued as he followed closely behind, opting to take a seat across from them.

"...Or jinx your eyelids shut, but Neville here wouldn't let us." George finished. Neville looked up from his book triumphantly.

"We all know he stopped you for your sake rather than mine." Eve grinned coyly.

"Very true." Fred nodded.

"Hell hath no fury like an Eve scorned," George agreed. Eve rolled her eyes at their dramatics. The compartment fell quiet, the sounds of the train on the track and the students in other compartments were a symphony of muffled sounds.

"So, how was your summer?" George asked after a prolonged silence.

"Boring," Eve sighed. "stuck inside most of the time because of the whole Sirius Black thing."

"Yeah, mum and dad have been mental about the entire summer acting like he was going to end up in St. Ottery Catchpole at any time. I know he's a crazed murderer, but we're in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we were able to go to visit Bill in Egypt before he escaped." Eve smiled, she was happy for them; their father had won 700 Galleons in the lottery, which had allowed them to take such an expensive trip when they usually struggled to afford school books.

"How was that, by the way?"

"It was wicked," George smiled. "Egyptian wizards knew some nasty curses…"

"There was an entire chamber of mutated muggle skeletons that had broken in over the years. Pretty sure one had six arms." Fred interjected.

"I was more caught up by the one with two heads…"

"I'm so jealous." Eve groaned.

"Did you happen to see a mimbulus mimbletonia?" Neville asked with excitement.

"I'm sorry, what?" the twins asked in unison, looking a bit flummoxed.

"It's a type of rare cacti," the boy sailed solemnly. "...Never mind." He looked unusually saddened.

"We're sorry Neville, we just didn't know what that was"

"It's not that," Neville explained, shaking his head. "Gran cancelled our holiday to France because of Sirius Black and I was really looking forward to the hidden magical gardens of Versailles."

"I thought there were reports of him heading north, not south. Why wouldn't France be safe?"

"I tried to tell her that…" Neville mumbled. "but once she makes up her mind, it's pretty much useless to argue."

"That's awful," Eve scoffed. "I hope they catch him soon."

They spent the better part of an hour catching up after their summer holiday. Eve complained about spending the summer studying and being confined to the dingy rooms of the old house on Spinner's End, the twins regaled more stories of their time in Egypt, and Neville elaborated about some of his struggles adding more magical plants to his greenhouse. He was half-way through explaining the cultivation for some singing mushrooms when the train quickly began to lose speed.

"We can't be there already," Eve gasped, jumping to her feet. "I haven't even changed into my school clothes!"

"No way! We haven't even reached the outskirts of the forest," George said, pointing out the darkened window. It was hard to tell the time of day from the stormy weather, but Eve could still see the uniform rolling hills of the Scottish farmlands when she squinted. The train crawled to a halt.

"Maybe something is wrong with the train," Neville said, looking a bit distraught at the idea.

Fred was about to say something when the lights went out. There were a few muffled screams from the neighboring compartments.

The next few moments were a bit of a blur to Eve. The twins and Neville stood up and one of them stepped onto her foot in the dark. Eve was about to tell them off when a sharp chill ran down her spine. It was like being doused with ice water. She felt like she was shrinking, getting smaller and smaller as the chill took over her body. The world felt too big and she was too small. Eve was helpless, helpless and scared like she had been when her mother died. She would never be happy again…

"Eeee!" a voice squealed, before ramming straight into her back and they toppled to the ground. The icy cold still seeped into her skin, but her trance had been broken.

"Gu-get off!" Eve stuttered because her teeth were chattering like she had been out in a snowstorm. She couldn't see who had come into their compartment and rammed into her in the dark.

"Huhhhhhh uhhhh…." They gurgled. Whoever they were, they seemed too terrified to speak as Eve struggled to get the both of them up to their feet.

Luckily, Fred had been able to find his wand and lit the compartment up with a simple Lumos spell.

"Ugh, scared Malfoy?" he asked the newcomer. Eve still held onto the Slytherin boy's arm as he found his footing, but the boy quickly shrugged her off when he got a look at everyone in the compartment.

The twins looked as terrified as Eve felt, their faces were plane and their eyes were wide with fear. Neville was in the corner by the window, trembling like a leaf.

The lights came back on as suddenly as they had gone out and with them the horrific chill dissipated. Draco Malfoy mumbled something about stumbling into the wrong cabin and scampered off before any of them could react. Eve still felt icy cold as she made her way over to her still-trembling friend. They sat down together and she awkwardly rubbed his back to try to calm him, as words of comfort still seemed a bit out of her reach.

"W-what was that?" George asked, flopping into the seat across from them. Fred closed the compartment door that Malfoy had left open before joining his brother.

"I felt like everything good in the world had disappeared…" George mumbled, rubbing at the goose pimples on his arms.

"Same," Fred sighed with exhaustion. He ran a hand through his rusty-orange hair.

"I f-felt so small…" Eve managed to say. Neville had stopped shaking, but he still looked unusually pale. Neville remained completely silent.

The train slowly began to move again.

About a minute after the Hogwarts Express had restarted its journey, their door slid open again, causing them all to jump.

"Is everyone alright?" A familiar man stood in the doorway, causing Eve to immediately stare down at her feet. She would not... could not look the man in the eye.

"What is he doing on the train?" her mind screamed. She had not mentally prepared herself to see him so soon. She had been hoping to avoid being near him until her first Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

One of the boys must have asked who he was, because Remus Lupin was explaining his position as their new defense teacher. Eve couldn't bring herself to focus on the conversation as she continued to stare at the floor.

"Here," Professor Lupin's voice was suddenly closer. The realization that he was talking to her made her snap her head up to look at him. The professor stood over her, holding a single dark square the size of a Knut. "This is the last of my supply, but the chocolate will help with the after effects of Dementors."

Eve caught the sight of the twins, both of them looking much more relaxed as the color returned to their pale faces. Neville also had a small piece of chocolate, which he was carefully nibbling on.

Eve just nodded and took the chocolate from him.

"Alright, good. I'll see you all in class then," Lupin nodded. "If any of you continue to feel ill once we reach the school, I highly recommend visiting the Hospital Wing." With those final words, he departed from their compartment.

"Aren't Dementors those things that guard Azkaban?"

"Yeah, they can kiss you and eat your soul. Leaving you a husk."

Eve learned about Dementors just over the summer. Her father mentioned that Hogwarts was taking precautions by keeping the creatures just outside of the grounds. Severus Snape had made it a point to explain exactly how dangerous Black was - he betrayed the Potters to You-Know-Who, slaughtered fourteen Muggles and one of his own friends. Her father had been very passionate about his hatred towards the escaped prisoner and Eve couldn't blame him, Black was a monster.

Eve took a bite of the chocolate the professor had given her. Instant warmth spread through her body, she felt so much better. Lighter even, as if an invisible weight was suddenly lifted off of her shoulders. She wished she had thanked Professor Lupin. She supposed she could thank him later...but she doubted she would ever find the courage to do so.

"You okay Eve? Your face is all blotchy," George asked.

"Maybe she is allergic to chocolate, though I'm sure I've seen her eat it before…" Fred teased.

"I'm fine," Eve huffed, standing up just as the train's whistle blew. "I'm going to get changed."

She swiftly grabbed her uniform from her trunk and rushed to the bathroom, knowing that she would have to splash cold water on her face while she was there. Flushed cheeks were not a good look on her.

Thankfully, the rest of the short train ride went smoothly. Eve saw the glowing pinpricks of light from windows of Hogwarts just after she had returned from the bathrooms. The downpour of rain made the castle almost impossible to see, but its radiant magic could be felt all the way from the station as they all lined up to exit the train. Like many of the older students, Eve quickly cast a simple shielding spell as a mock umbrella to protect herself from getting drenched.

"Are you feeling better?" Neville asked as they walked across the train station platform.

"Yeah, you?" Eve replied, happy that her flushed appearance had faded. It had nothing to do with the Dementors of course, but Eve had no desire to correct him.

"Yeah. It was terrible though," Neville frowned. "I can't believe those things were allowed on the train."

"Those things couldn't have been invited into the train. Dumbledore wouldn't have allowed it," Eve said as they piled up into one of the numerous carriages pulled by the haunting skeletal winged-horses that most students were unable to see. She and Neville shared a knowing glance as they tried to pretend that they also couldn't see the thestrals. Eve knew they were relatively harmless creatures, but that didn't make them any less terrifying to look at.

Lee Jordan joined them in their carriage on their way to the castle. Eve liked Lee, he was funny and not nearly as obnoxious as the twins could be, but he was quite the talker. He blabbered about his summer without much pause to the point Eve began musing over his exceptional lung capacity. If it had been one of the other boys in the compartment, she would have snidely reminded him that breathing was also an option, but Lee was more Fred and George's friend than hers and she didn't want to step on any toes. She always had to be careful, being the daughter of Hogwarts' most disliked professor made finding friends and allies difficult and she did not want to jeopardize the friendships she did have.

Eventually, the others in the carriage were able to get in a few words in edgewise, quickly driving the conversation to the Dementors on the train.

"It was awful," Lee gulped. "The chill sucked the air right out of me, it was so hard to breathe…they apparently poked into the compartment next to mine, so they were super close to me. Ron and Ginny were in that compartment, but they seemed okay when I saw them get off the train." The twins exchange glances of a mix of horror and relief. "Though, I heard that Harry Potter fainted."

"Poor kid," Eve sighed. There were murmurs of agreement as the carriage came to a halt.

Fred, George, and Lee decided to ceremoniously exit the carriage by jumping out of the doorway and marking who had hopped the furthest in the slippery grass of Hogwarts grounds. They did this every year as a sort of tradition that Eve had never participated in. She and Neville exited the carriage like sane human beings and followed behind the other three as they playfully argued over who won this year.

As the flood of students flowed over to the entrance of the castle, the prefects of each house were slowly rounding up their respective students. Eve could hear Percy Weasley shouting above the rest, rounding up the Gryffindors.

"Better listen to our Humongous Bighead- I mean, Head Boy," George snickered. "See you later Eve," he said as the four of them veered towards the left.

Eve waved at the boys as they split off. She sighed quietly, sometimes she wished she had been sorted into Gryffindor as that's where her friends were, but she was also sure she would have gone mad if she had had to live with the insanity that came with it. As she made her way towards her own prefect, she caught a snippet of a conversation happening behind her.

"Are the rumors true Potter?" a snobbish voice asked. "Did you really faint?"

"Shove off, Malfoy," another voice responded.

"Did you faint as well, Weasley?" said Malfoy loudly. "Did the scary old Dementor frighten you too, Weasley?"

Eve cringed and turned on her heel, going against the flow of traffic. Fred and George were not here to defend their little brother- and although she was pretty sure Ron hated her guts for being a Snape- she had to defend him in their stead. Besides, she couldn't stand a hypocrite.

Malfoy and his gorilla-esque sidekicks were taunting Potter, Ron Weasley, and Granger. Ron was seething with anger and Hermione was trying to pull him back while Harry scowled at Malfoy. It was obvious that the famous Boy-Who-Lived was more pale than usual.

"Better to faint than to flail into random compartments and crash into people, all while squealing like a little girl, if you ask me," Eve interrupted, causing all of them to stop and look at her. "If I remember correctly, I had to pull your shaking body off of the floor. Not exactly the epitome of bravery, Malfoy."

The blond opened his mouth to argue, but he thought better of it and quickly closed it. There was one distinct advantage to being the daughter of Severus Snape; the Slytherins never bothered her. As far as they were concerned, their Head of House's daughter was untouchable and in this moment she was happy to take full advantage of that fact.

"Whatever," Malfoy spat before hurrying off with a huff, his goons dutifully following behind him.

The three Gryffindors stared at her with a mix of confusion and awe, which didn't surprise her as she tried her best to avoid the three even when the twins occasionally hung around them. The two boys already had a strong bias against her without really knowing her and Eve felt it would be more hassle than it was worth to convince them otherwise as everyone knew that Professor Snape and Harry Potter loathed each other. Granger, however, seemed the least affected by her presence and even displayed this by finding the words to thank her. Eve returned this gesture with a curt nod before heading back the way she had come.

Unlike Percy Weasley, who could still be loudly heard from a distance, Eve could see her prefect, Timothy Leblanc, waving his black and yellow scarf over his head. He had no need to shout, Hufflepuffs were generally less rowdy than the other houses and were therefore easier to wrangle in the midst of chaos. Of course she would know this, because she was one.  
_________________________________________________________  
A/N: I am so happy to be giving this character another chance. Eve has existed in my brain for a long time and has undergone several tweaks and personality changes as I've tried (and failed) to write her. I hope you'll come to love her as much as I do. Thank you for reading!


	3. The Trouble with Classes

"Aw, Nev. You signed up for divination?" Eve clicked her tongue in disappointment. Neville had sat down at the Hufflepuff table for the last few minutes of breakfast on their first morning back and she had coerced him into handing over his class schedule while she finished her toast.

"I thought it sounded kind of interesting…" he muttered, seeming a bit embarrassed.

"Not with Trelawney," Eve said with a shake of her head. "Heard that she is a load of crock. Fred and George say she's nothing but phony predictions and common guesswork wrapped in a shawl. The easiest way to pass is if you're good at bollocksing your way through class."

"Oh…" he frowned with a look of disappointment.

"Cheer up! You can always switch over to something else next year if you hate it," Eve consoled him after finishing the last of her breakfast. "I feel like there is something about that class I should warn you about, though…"

"What?" Neville urged, now in a slight panic.

"...I honestly don't remember." Eve finished after a moment of pondering. "I wasn't in the class, but I do remember she caused quite a stir to the Hufflepuffs that took the class last year...Shite. Just remember not to take the class too seriously, okay? It's a shoddy branch of magic anyways."

"I knew I should have taken Muggle Studies instead," Neville grumbled as he got up from his seat. "See you later, Eve."

"Later," Eve nodded, also standing up. They were the last couple of students to leave the Great Hall before the nine o'clock classes. Eve had been purposely dragging her feet this morning and the sentiment stayed with her as she sluggishly made her way to class. She almost wished Peeves the poltergeist was nearby to slow her journey even further. But being late would only draw attention to herself when she did make it to class.

She didn't have to worry about that, though, because she made it through the door of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom just as the bell began to ring. The universe also provided her the small mercy of an empty chair in the back row, so she could slide right into class without having to walk past anyone and it was next to her favorite not-quite-friend.

"Cutting it close, Snape," Desdemona Flint smirked as she brushed her long brunette hair over her shoulder, uncovering her Slytherin crest.

"But not late," Eve affirmed before sliding into the empty chair. "Thanks for saving me a spot."

"Hmph, like anyone else was going to sit there."

Her statement was not untrue, Desdemona mostly preferred her own company and hardly associated with anyone in her own house, let alone the rest of the school. Eve supposed she had only been able to chip away at the girl's icy demeanor towards her because they had ended up being partners in every Hufflepuff/Slytherin class since their first year. They were both oddities within their own houses, giving them a commonality few others shared.

Eve was about to respond with a snarky comment, but the doors of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class opened. Remus Lupin strolled through the classroom. Though well-worn, his current set of robes were far less shabby than she had seen him wear before. Though still sallow skinned, his complexion even looked a bit better than it did the night before on the train.

"Good morning, there will be no books today," he addressed them. "You can put those away." There were a few mumbles of confusion and shared glances; anytime last year they were asked to put away their books it was so they could all reenact scenes from Gilderoy Lockhart's "amazing adventures". Last time, Eve had to play a deranged hag and Lockhart had refused to continue the story unless she had produced an "evil enough" cackle.

"Everyone stand up," Lupin motioned with his arms. Reluctantly, the rows of Hufflepuffs and Slytherins got to their feet. After the last student was standing, Lupin flicked his wand and the tables and chairs vanished as all their school bags were gently pushed along the walls of the large room.

"Your fourth year of this class will be mainly focused on the basic offensive and defensive spells in close combat and proper dueling. I am aware that there was a dueling club for a short time last year, so I figured we could spend the first week or so of lessons to brush up on that." Eve rolled her eyes; if by short, he meant a single class that was quickly disbanded after Harry Potter revealed himself to be a Parselmouth and the possible heir of Slytherin and sending the students into a panic, then yes, it was a short time.

"Now, if everyone would partner up, please. We will begin on the strength of our Protego spells. One of you will be shielding, the other will be attacking. Let's stick to spells you have only learned in previous classes, shall we? The offensive side will cast until their partner's shield has dropped, then you'll wait for further instructions."

"Ready to get your arse kicked?" Flint whispered to her. Eve turned to look at the girl, only to realize that she had to crane her neck downward more than she had been used to doing in the years prior. Eve knew she had grown during the summer, but staring down at the Slytherin who had hardly grown an inch since they first met made Eve feel absolutely gigantic next to her.

"Only if you can reach it," Eve snorted as the class began dividing into pairs and finding open space to begin the lesson. Desdemona glared at her.

"I'll be on the offense first then," she said, her murderous stare shifting to an impish grin. "Stay on your toes, Snape."

"Whatever flies your broomstick," Eve shrugged before pulling out her wand. The hornbeam and unicorn hair wand vibrated slightly with anticipation. Though it was not a particularly strong dueling wand, it was eager enough to try.

Making sure to stand a few paces away from her partner, Eve studied herself, waiting for the professor's call. Lupin wandered around the room and she averted her eyes each time he passed close to her.

"Alright, begin."

Shouts of low-level curses and hexes filled the room, followed by the calls of the shielding charm.

"Locomotor Wibbly!" Desdemona yelled as a bluish light rushed towards her.

"Proteigo!" the jelly-leg curse bounced off her shield and fizzled out.

"Confundo!" The girl's spell was stronger this time, causing Eve's legs to buckle from the force, but her shield still held.

Eve's protective bubble finally popped after the Slytherin cast a particularly strong stinging hex. Because of its protection, the resulting sting to her forearm was mild, but Eve was annoyed that her shielding spell broke so quickly.

It was a small consolation that roughly half of the students shielding were in similar circumstances. She consistently found herself to be woefully average in Defense classes. Desdemona smirked as Eve lightly slapped her wrist to help dissipate the stinging.

By now, all of the class had finished the exercise with the exception of Mortimer Graves and Alexi Volkov, two Slytherins still in the midst of assault and perries. This was a surprise to no one, as the Volkov family was well known for their dueling skills in Russia, something the boy was never shy to admit.

Professor Lupin stopped to study the pair with a look of intrigue. When Graves finally managed to break Volkov's protegio, several minutes had already passed.

"Five points to Slytherin for a near-perfect shielding charm," Lupin said with a smile. He then turned to address the class again. "Partners, switch roles. The same rules apply."

Desdemona glared at her as her lip twitched slightly into a small sneer. The Slytherin quickly lifted her wand, casting the Protego spell over herself. With a sigh, Eve began throwing spells at her partner.

Chattering teeth jinx. Blocked.

Tickling charm. Blocked.

Cross-eyed jinx.

Confusion charm.

Stinging hex.

Freezing spell.

All of them were blocked by the skilled Slytherin. Eve knew if they kept this up, they would be the last group standing and Eve wanted nothing to do with that kind of attention. She hesitated for a moment before trying for a more unique approach.

Eve lunged forward, closing her eyes.

"Lumos Maxima." The bright light flashed between them, she could see its brilliant glow through her eyelids. Cutting the spell off, she followed it up with Petrificus totalus.

Eve opened her eyes just in time to see her partner's protective bubble pop. Her freezing jinx missed its target, but she had achieved her objective.

"Merlin," Desdemona huffed. The girl glanced around, making sure their professor was not within earshot. "That was pretty fucking clever, but your aim is shitty enough when your eyes open, I'm surprised you managed to hit the shield."

Eve smiled at her partner. Compliments, back-handed or not, were a rare occurrence with her not-quite-friend and they made her smile.

The rest of class was a variety of practical exercises and Eve was able to blissfully stay out of Professor Lupin's view. She was more than happy to summon her bookbag once the end-of-class bell rang and darted towards the exit.

"Eveekins!"

Eve instinctually jumped at the surprise voices that greeted her at the door. She managed not to scream, but a strangled noise managed to escape her throat. Several students leaving the classroom snickered as they walked by.

"The hell are you doing here?" she managed to hiss out as she held back the urge to punch them both.

"Going to class, duh." Fred yawned.

"We have our free period first thing in the morning. It'll be perfect for sleeping in," George explained.

"And getting to our first class on time. Aren't you proud of us, Eveekins?"

"Terribly," she grumbled before walking off towards the Charms classroom.

"Hey, are you okay?" George asked, his obnoxious grin had faded into a look of mild concern. "We really didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm fine. I just...I've got to get to class." she said over her shoulder.

"Okay, then," Fred shrugged. "I guess we'll see you later."

"Yep." Eve said dully. One down, only a few dozen more Defense classes to go.

Luckily, the rest of her classes had been uneventful, but there was an unusual amount of buzzing amongst the third years. Eve wasn't absolutely sure, but she knew it had something to do with a few of their classes. Instead of letting the information become warped by the proverbial grapevine before it reached her, Eve chose to go directly to the source. If she was going to hear gossip, she wanted it to be as truthful as possible.

"Okay, Neville. What's going on?" Eve asked as she sat next to the boy in the study hall. As it was the first day of the semester and most of the students were spending their afternoon away from the area to catch up with each other and enjoy that last taste of summer. She knew Neville would be there though, as he used the time each year to organize things for his classes so that he would be less likely to misplace or forget them.

Neville looked up at her with a frown.

"Well…" he stared quietly. "Today in divination class, professor Trelawney saw a bad omen in Harry's tea leaves. She said he is going to die."

Like a surge of electricity, Eve suddenly remembered what she was supposed to tell Neville at breakfast.

"Ah ha! Yeah, that's what I wanted to warn you about. That old bat predicts the death of a student nearly every year. Some Slytherin was supposed to kick the bucket last year...Montague I think," Eve mused for a moment. "Anyways, she's a total fraud. I'm pretty sure Montague was still alive in Defense class this morning. "

"That's what Professor McGonagall told us."

"Good. You should listen to her." Eve nodded.

"But Trelawney predicted that I would break a cup... and I did!" Neville added doubtfully.

Eve didn't want to tell him that anyone with eyes could see that he was a bundle of nerves that would be prone to accidents. He would be an easy target to guess clumsy misfortune upon. She chose a less direct approach.

"Funny how things tend to happen when you force the mind to think about it," Eve said coolly. "A self-fulfilling prophecy. I doubt you would have dropped it if she hadn't put the idea in your mind first."

Neville didn't look entirely convinced.

"Well, that's not all that happened today…"

"Oh?" Eve raised an eyebrow.

"Draco Malfoy was attacked by a Hippogriff in Hagrid's first class." Eve felt her jaw drop slightly in surprise.

"That's...not good."

"He deserved it, really," Neville mumbled as he leafed through a Transfiguration assignment. "He called one an 'ugly brute' after Hagrid specifically told us that they were vain creatures that could get violent if insulted. But, I'm worried he'll get sacked. Malfoy has already put up a stink about the small scratch he got."

"Jesus," Eve sighed. Neville gave her an odd look.

"Merlin," Eve corrected herself. "Let's hope he doesn't get sacked. He seemed really excited to be teaching too." She did not know Rubeus Hagrid well, other than the fact that he had been the school's groundkeeper for ages. Eve had had only one brief conversation with the man in her four years at Hogwarts and it had been to apologize for crashing into the side of his cabin after she and the twins had the brilliant idea to sled down on of the schools many snowy hills in an innertube that they had found... but she still felt terrible for him. Stupid Malfoy.

"Well, it sounds like you had quite an interesting first day of classes."

"Yeah," Neville frowned. "What about you?"

"Same old, same old," Eve shrugged, sitting down next to the boy. She knew she might as well take advantage of time to organize all her class materials.  
________________________________________________  
A/N: Hope you've enjoyed reading so far!


	4. The Favor

"I need to ask you a favor."

Eve stared into the grey eyes of Cedric Diggory, one of the most popular students at Hogwarts. He was attractive and well-liked by many despite being a person of few words. When he did speak, he had an air about him that radiated friendliness towards everyone as if they were a close friend. Eve was pretty sure most of Hufflepuffs female students had had a crush on him at some point, maybe even some blokes too. Eve herself could admit she had a thing for him for a short time...

But it was hard to ignore his soft smile and perfectly wavy blond hair when he was speaking directly to her.

…Okay, she still had a bit of a crush on him.

"A …favor?" she stammered, trying not to look up from her dinner that Thursday evening for fear that she would become flushed in all her blotchy glory.

Cedric was friendly with her, as he was with everyone, even if she was the daughter of the most disliked Hogwarts professor. They had had a few conversations together, but they were mostly just moments of small talk that they were both terrible with, but now he was asking her for a favor. Her, of all people!

"It's a big favor. Huge even," Cedric said with hesitation.

Intrigued, Eve looked up from her spinach pie. Curiosity overcame her feelings as she wondered what could possibly constitute as a "huge favor."

"Okay?" she asked, setting down her fork.

"Will you try out for a Beater position on Saturday?"

Eve blinked a couple of times. Wondering if she had heard him correctly. Cedric sensed her obvious confusion.

"Both Harford and Ahuja graduated last year and as the new Quidditch Captain, I want you to try out this year."

"I don't play Quidditch, Cedric."

"I know. I know," he sighed. "But I've seen you smack at bludgers with the Weasley twins during the weekends."

"The boys like to practice and use it as stress relief, I'm only along for the ride."

"Yes, but I've seen you and you've got amazing aim and power behind your hits. A lot of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team has seen you at some point, actually. Rishaan Ahuja wanted to scout you out for a reserve Beater position last year, but with the Quidditch season being shortened due to the the petrifications and Syltherin's monster, he obviously couldn't."

Eve knew she was beginning to blush, just the thought of so many people watching her as she knocked away bludgers for fun without her even knowing made her anxious. She looked back down at her plate.

"There are other students that will try out," she mumbled more to her dinner than to the boy sitting across from her.

"There will be," Cedric agreed. "But I doubt they'll be as good as you."

"I don't even have a broom." It was common knowledge that anyone joining one of the Hogwarts Quidditch teams would have their own proper broom, as using any of the old school brooms for sport was a disaster waiting to happen, and there was no way her father would buy her one if she decided to join the Hufflepuff team as he had made it very clear that her studies were top priority and he would not fund for her to "potentially break her neck."

"We'll take care of that," Cedric assured her.

Eve glanced at Cedric then back at the table, then back again. She had never thought about joining Quidditch, nor of having to rival the twins in an actual game. She also knew her father would not be pleased, but she also didn't want to disappoint the new Quidditch Captain.

"Fine, I'll try out on Monday."

"Brilliant!" Cedric beamed at her. "And you'll try your best?"

Eve pursed her lips slightly. It seemed Cedric knew she would purposely botch the practice and was calling her out in the nicest way possible. As a Hufflepuff should.

"Yes, yes. I'll try my best," Eve said in spite of herself as she mentally cursed those beautiful grey eyes.

"You're the absolute best. Thank you!" he said with relief as he slumped onto the bench across from her. "How is the pie, by the way? I'm not sure whether to eat that or the sausage."

"Why not both?" Eve shrugged. She would always have half a serving of each if she couldn't pick between two amazing dishes that were served at the school.

"Both it is then," Cedric smiled. He grabbed a helping of each as he began to make small talk about his summer.

If Cedric were in Slytherin, she would know that he was choosing to sit next to her as a way to keep on her good side. Butter her up, so to speak. But Cedric was a Hufflepuff, so she could just as easily guess that he was trying to be her friend so that she wouldn't feel so lonely and awkward come tryouts.

Why not both?

Eve chose to smile and ask relevant questions as well as talk around her boring holiday, as she tried to ignore the looming sensation of building stress.

That Saturday morning, Eve was the first on the pitch as Cedric had asked her to be. She had snuck off after breakfast, avoiding anyone she usually associated with. Eve hadn't told anyone about trying out for Quidditch, not even Fred and George. She didn't want to make a fuss about it, especially since she wasn't even part of the Hufflepuff team yet. Luckily, it seemed Cedric had kept their conversation a secret as well, as it would have spread like wildfire through their house if he had told anyone.

"Here I am," Eve said dryly, holding her arms out as if she were making some sort of grand entrance. She had dressed in Muggle clothes for the occasion, as she found flying in robes a hindrance.

"Here you are," Cedric nodded as a small smile played upon his lips. "I told you to come early so I could give you this." He held up the broom he was holding. It was an older model that showed obvious signs of use, but it appeared to still be in good condition. In the morning sun, she could just make out the fading words on the handle: Comet 260.

Eve knew she looked foolish as she stood there with her mouth agape, but she was at a loss for words.

"I can't accept this," Eve stammered. "Cedric...a broom?! Why would even consider giving something like this to me? We're not even…" she trailed off, not wanting to be offensive.

"...Friends?" Cedric finished, still holding the broom out to her. "First of all, as Quidditch Captain, I'm making sure all of my present - and future- teammates have proper brooms one way or another."

"But…" Cedric held up his other hand to silence her.

"Second. As you can see, this broom is old. It's less of a gift and more of a hand-me-down at this point. Besides, I got the Comet 290 as my early birthday present this summer, it's not like I need this one anymore." He said as he walked over to her, practically forcing the broom into her hands.

"If it bothers you that much, think of it as a long-term loan," Cedric suggested. "As long as you're on the Quidditch team, consider it yours. Then, if it's still in good condition when you graduate, or get a proper broom of your own, give it to the next Hufflepuff player who needs one. Okay?"

"...Okay," Eve said reluctantly. "If I make the team."

"Good. It's been six years since Hufflepuff won the Quidditch Cup and I want to hold it at least once before I graduate, so I'm trying to recruit the best team I can. So, when you become one of our new Beaters, you won't be stuck riding one of those twigs in the school's broom cupboard.

They spent the remaining few minutes in silence as the rest of the current Hufflepuff team and aspiring Quidditch players trickled in. Some chatted excitedly amongst each other while others looked focused and anxious for tryouts.

"Alright everyone, settle down," Cedric said in a calm but firm tone. The noise quickly tapered off as everyone focused their attention on him. "We will separate tryouts by position. We'll start with Chasers, Keeper, Beaters, then Seeker." He pointed to various locations on the pitch for them to congregate as he listed off each section.

Eve sulked over to where the other contenders for the Beater position stood. There were three boys already standing there, each of them older than her and far more bulky.

"Really, Snape? You're trying out for Beater?" One of the boys snickered as they watched her approach. He was a seventh year that she didn't know at all, but she was pretty sure his name started with an R.

"No, I just thought I'd wake up early on a Saturday and walk out to the Quidditch pitch just for the hell of it," Eve scoffed before she could stop herself. Surprisingly, one of the boys, a fifth year name Doug, chuckled at her response. The seventh year and his buddy found it far less amusing, as he looked like he was about to say something nasty when he was loudly interrupted.

"Phew! And here I thought I'd be the only girl trying out this year!" The voice was very familiar, one she had heard multiple times in the common room. The fifth year girl's voice was unmistakable with its boisterous and almost alto quality. The group turned to stare at the owner of the voice. The girl was far shorter than the rest of them, but she had the same stocky stature as the boys that Eve did not.

"Oh, um, yeah. Me too," Eve said, grateful for the shift of focus. "Nancy Brown, right?"

"The one and only!" she beamed, flicking her chestnut braid over her shoulder. "Ya'know, girls almost never try out for Beater. It's neat that there are two of us trying out this year."

"That's because girls are too delicate to be Beaters," R-whatever mocked. Eve was the other girl's eyes grow cold with fury.

"And, we're going to sit over there! " Eve exclaimed, pulling Nancy along before she went on a rampage.

"I'd hex his bits off if I hadn't left my wand in the dorms," Nancy growled, looking ready to snap her broom in half.

"Not worth it," Eve said, dragging her to the nearby stands. "The best revenge is kicking his arse in the Beaters trial."

"Hmph. I didn't think you were so pastifictic, Snape," the girl huffed. "Didn't you get into a fist fight with Marietta Edgecomb a couple years ago?"

"And I got two months of detention for that," Eve replied. "And my father threatened to pull me out of Hogwarts if I even remotely showed violence towards a schoolmate again."

"Yikes, I didn't even think of that," Nancy gasped. "Snape's a terrifying professor, I can't imagine how scary he is as a parent!"

Eve snorted despite herself. Usually, students were very careful about what they said about the notorious Potions professor when she was around, like she would go running off to him the second she heard a student badmouthing his name. It was almost refreshing to hear someone say something like that to her face.

"To be fair, he's a better father than he is a teacher," Eve shrugged. "Still pretty terrifying though."

"Does he go over your homework during the summer, being a professor and all?"

"Yeah, why?" Eve asked, surprised by the question.

"Just curious. My mum is a Muggle primary teacher. She used to go over all my homework when I was a kid. She still goes over my Hogwarts assignments during holidays to make sure they're grammatically correct and whatnot." Nancy groaned. "I guess all teachers with kids are like that."

Eve smiled.

"I guess so."

They sat on the wooden bench, watching the beginnings of the Chaser tryouts in silence. They didn't speak again for nearly an hour until the last person for the Chaser trial left the field.

"Hey, so," Nancy said, breaking the silence. "Are you going to wear your hair like that for the trial?

"Oh, ummm…" Eve said, instinctively grabbing her long black hair that fell just past her shoulders. She realized that she had forgotten a hair tie.

"No worries, you can borrow mine." Nancy pulled a gaudy purple scrunchie off of her wrist, complete with a shimmering glitter coating. "I always have an extra on hand. You should invest in a couple."

"I always lose my hair ties," Eve sighed. Fred and George always teased her when she would inevitably lose another one. "They also hurt to keep on my wrist."

"Scrunchies are the way to go. A lot softer on the arms," Nancy smirked as she watched Eve gather up her hair with the ugly thing. Eve narrowed her eyes in annoyance as she noted the much more discrete navy blue scrunchie in the other girl's hair.

The Keeper trials had gone a lot quicker than it had for the Chasers, as there had been significantly less people trying out for that position. When Cedric asked for the Beaters to gather Eve suddenly felt butterflies creating havoc in the depths of her stomach. She and Nancy made their way back over to the others.

"We'll let the ickle boys go first," Nancy said confidently. "And save the best for last." Eve nodded dumbly in agreement. Whatever could postpone the inevitable.

It was explained to them that the trail would be in two parts. The first was to simply stop the bludgers from colliding with a single Chaser holding the quaffle while they soared around the pitch for five minutes. The second trail, which Eve was most afraid of, was known as the "stress test," which required the aspiring Beater to hold off a barrage of bludgers centered on them for three minutes. The second trial was notorious for sending recruits to the hospital wing for broken bones - some even joked that one was supposed to get hit at least once to show how well they could take a hit, as Beaters usually had the highest injury rate of any position in Quidditch. Eve did not want to be hit.

Eve learned the seventh year's name was Rick Simmons as he volunteered to go first. He seemed to do well with the first trail, managing to keep Stacy Peaks from being sideswiped by several eager bludgers. His second trial did not instill hope in Eve, despite his intimidating size, he spent a lot of the three minutes dodging the barrage of bludgers.

"You're supposed to hit them, you nitwit," Nancy said with a shake of her head. "Not as tough as you look now, are you Rick?" Eve had to agree, but she also didn't blame him for naturally avoiding injury. She wasn't sure she could do any better. The boy flew off the pitch, looking furious.

Rick's silent buddy. Todd somethingorother, fared far better. He was much more diligent the second trial, knocking away bludgers rather than dodging them. Well, at least until a bludger smacked into this right arm. Despite his obvius cry of pain, the trial kept going. Eve watched as he quickly switched the bat to his left hand. Unfortunately, he was far less gifted with his left hand, making his swings clumsy and slow. To his credit, he still fared pretty well, only having to dodge two bludgers that he couldn't reach and he managed not to get hit again. Todd flew down to the grass after the trail ended, looking quite frazzled.

"Not bad, not bad!" Eve heard Cedric say the boy landed. "Trudy is over in the stand with a healer's kit to mend any broken bones." He said, pointing behind him where a slender sixth year girl sat. She waved Todd over. The boy muttered something under his breath that Eve felt was a slew of curses as he made his way to the stands, but Cedric paid the display no mind.

"Next!"

There were a few minutes of searching for the fifth year boy, but it seemed like he had thought better than to go through with the trials. He probably snuck off after seeing Rick fail miserably and Todd getting the stuffing knocked out of him. Eve began to play with the idea that she would join him and escape to a cozy nook somewhere where she wouldn't even have to think about Quidditch.

Eve felt Nancy push her forward. Eve almost stumbled from the force. She turned to see the other girl smiling at her with a shit-eating grin.

"You're next, then. I did say to save the best for last," she winked. "Besides, I want to see you play. Might not get the chance if I get knocked unconscious first."

Eve's throat went dry as she tried to swallow. The butterflies in her stomach were threatening to consume her. She took a deep breath to calm herself, suddenly wishing she could put on the same expressionless face Severus Snape was well known for.

"Think of it as just a more intense game with Fred and George," she told herself. "Just a game…"

She told herself this as she mounted Cedric's old broom repeating the words like a sacred mantra as she swung at the bludgers aimed at Stacy. She met every one with calculated thwacks. But she knew that had been the easy part.

She was now surrounded by the remains of last year's Quidditch team. They were huddled in groups of two to support the heavy cases that held the chained bludgers within them. Even from several meters away, she could hear them banging against the walls for their prisons.

"Ready?" Cedric called from the ground, she could see the golden glimmer of a stopwatch in his hands. Eve took another deep breath and nodded.

"It's just a game."

"Starting...now!" On his command, the others unlatched the trunks. The first one to open was the one on her right . Eve steeled herself and swung. The bludger connected her bat with the usual heavy thud, though Eve didn't have much time to lament over it as another bludger whipped at her on the left.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Eve tried her best to hit every one, but they were quickly picking up pace and frequency.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Crack! Eve gasped in shock as one slammed into her right shoulder. A wave of pain shot down her arm and along her back. She knew something was broken. Reflex tears filled her eyes, but she knew that if she stopped she would either have to start dodging, or soldier on. Right now, she was in the same predicament Todd had been, but she did have one advantage over him.

Grabbing the bat with her left, Eve swung at the oncoming bludger, connecting with it straight on. Blinking back the tears, she continued her trial. As she continued, she realized why Cedric was so keen on having her join the team. She wasn't the strongest or a very aggressive player.

But she was ambidextrous.

Being able to use both hands equally when in a position that usually caused injury was invaluable. It was something the previous Quidditch captain must have noticed, that was why he wanted her to join the obviously knew that and had taken it a step further.

"And time!" Cedric shouted as he waved his wand. The bludgers all slowed to a crawling pace, allowing the others to gather them back into their trunks.

"Excellent!' he said to her as she descended. "You only let a couple of bludgers past you once you were injured. Fantastic!"

Eve offered him a strained smile. The pain in her arm had significantly worsened and tears were freely falling from her eyes now.

"Trudy's waiting for you in the stands," Cedric added sympathetically. Sure enough, the blonde-haired girl was waving at her. Todd was still sitting next to her looking tired, but no worse for wear now. Eve slowly made her way over to them.

"You were amazing," Nancy said as she walked by. Eve didn't reply for fear she would start blubbering like a small child.

"Just what I thought, a broken clavicle," Trudy said after she examined her arm. "I've got a Bone-Mending potion here that should quickly fix that up, but do go see Madam Pomfrey if something still doesn't feel right in a hour." She handed her the silvery-blue potion, which Eve downed quickly in search of relief.

The sharp pain subsided almost instantly, leaving a constant but dull ache in its absence. Eve sighed and hastily wiped away her tears.

"You're pretty good, you know." Eve looked up to see that Todd was speaking to her. "You actually have the makings of a decent Beater."

"Thank you," Eve said after a moment of silence.

"But, you'll need to toughen up," he continued, giving her a stern look. "If you can't last longer than a minute without crying after an injury, you'll have a lot of rough games. Beaters rarely call for injury-related timeouts unless they're extensive. Otherwise, Quidditch games would never end."

Eve wanted to snap at him that she had little desire to join the Quidditch team and that she was only doing it as a favor to the new Quidditch Captain. She bit her lip in frustration, yes, she hadn't wanted to be a part of all this, but she had gone through it anyways. Maybe a small part of her had actually wanted to try out.

"If you are picked, you'll be conditioned," Todd added as his expression softened slightly. "It's not like you'd be the first Beater to be weepy about injuries in the 'd get used to them." Eve knew his words were truthful, she swore Fred and George had the highest pain tolerances of anyone she knew. They had to be.

"You sure know a lot about being a Beater despite not being a part of the Quidditch team before," Eve replied, cocking her head slightly.

"I've been on the reserves for years now," Todd scoffed, looking offended. "My brother, Mick, had been a Beater since his second year and I have been his reserve ever since my third year."

"Oh, you're brother is Mick Harford," Eve said, finally making the connection. Everyone in Hufflepuff knew Mick, he had been recruited as Beater for a team out in Australia weeks after he graduated last spring.

"Obviously," Todd huffed. "We have the same last name." Eve felt her face grow hot with embarrassment as she muttered a sorry and looked away from him.

Eve watched as Nancy took her trials, she had missed most of the girl's first trial as she had her arm healed, but it looked like Nancy had managed to keep Stacy in one piece. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how one looked at it) Eve was able to see her second trail in its entirety. Unlike Eve, the other girl had true power behind her hits. She sent several bludgers flying long distances when they approached. Nancy had strength, but she did seem to lack dexterity. Eve watched as the girl was clipped no less than five times by bludgers. Granted, she had managed to not be hit directly, but her lack of speed caused her to get her legs and arms grazed several times. It didn't appear that she had broken anything from this distance, as she was still swinging as strongly as ever, but Eve could just make out the pain on Nancy's face.

By the time the other girl had ended her trial, Eve was feeling well enough to greet her on the grass.

"You were good," Eve said. "The power behind your swing is incredible!"

"Oh, I know," Nancy grumbled, looking less than pleased. "But I almost fell off my broom twice and my reaction time is still too slow! Anyone with eyes could see how many times the bludgest clipped me."

"But you avoided any real injury," Eve said.

"Clips don't stop bludgers from hitting your teammates," Nancy said angrily. "At least if you're hit directly, your body still shields them. Slow reaction times for a Beater can easily lose the game for the team!" With a final angry huff, she marched off the Quidditch field towards the castle.

"Wait," Eve said, jogging to catch up to her.

"What?"

"I have to give you back your scrunchie," Eve said. Holding up the purple monstrosity.

"Oh, thanks," Nancy sighed. Taking it and slipping it back into her wrist. They walked back towards the castle together.

"If either of us is going to make the team, It'll be you," Nancy said dully.

"You can't know for sure," Eve shrugged.

"Nah, Cedric would be stupid not to add you to the team. Your ambidextrous-ness makes you an asset. With some training you could be good. Really good."

Eve couldn't help but smile, it was refreshing to be complimented by others on something other than her potions skills. If she was asked to join the Hufflepuff team, maybe she would actually take them up on the offer. Broken bones and all


	5. Grim Prospects

The twins practically tackled her after the school's late Sunday breakfast. She knew what they were going to say before either of them spoke.

"So, you found out then." Eve huffed as the boys wrapped an arm around her, smooshing her between them. From the outside, it probably looked like a group hug, but it was more of an entrapment so that she couldn't escape their interrogation.

"We like to keep tabs on the other Quidditch teams," said Fred.

"So when an ambidextrous player tried out for a Beater position…" continued George.

"And also happen to be the daughter of the Potions professor…"

"...People talk."

"I see."

"We heard you were pretty decent…"

"...Good even."

"We're hurt that you didn't tell us you were going to try out Eveekins."

"Well, it's not like it was my idea." Eve grumbled before telling them about the favor for Cedric and the broom he had loaned her.

"Oh, so that's it," Fred laughed. " He wooed you into trying out."

"He didn't woo me," Eve spat.

"What was it that got to you, Eve?" George asked. "His luscious hair? His chiseled jaw? His cute arse?"

"If I had known you fancied him so much, I would have refused the favor," Eve smirked. "I wouldn't have tried to impress him if I knew you had a thing for him."

The three of them dissolved into laughter.

"And if you must know, it's his eyes that did me in," Eve said truthfully when she regained her composure. "You guys aren't cross with me, are you? I mean, if I make the team, we will have to be rivals."

"Not at all," Fred assured her.

"But don't think we won't lob a bludger at your head if we get the chance on the field," George said, swinging an imaginary bat with his free hand.

"Good, I wouldn't want you two to go soft on my account," Eve drawled. "Now will you please let me go?" As quickly as they had descend upon her, the twin quickly removed their grasps

"So, what is Hufflepuff's new Beater going to do today?" Fred asked as Eve straightened out her now wrinkled shirt.

"I'm thinking about going to The Spot," Eve replied. "I was thinking about packing a lunch along with a couple textbooks and making an afternoon of it."

"Do you mind if our humble selves join you?"

"Only if you promise to try and study something," Eve warned, shaking her finger at the offending twin. "I don't care what, I just want an hour or two of peace to sort through my Transfiguration work."

"Fair," the twins said in unison.

"We can help you, if you want," George suggested.

"Oh, please. Didn't you barely scrape by with Acceptables in Transfiguration last year?"

"Yes, but you know that's actually because we're rubbish at doing assignments and turning them in. You know that."

Eve rolled her eyes. Her father would bury her alive if she tried to pull anything like that in any of her classes. It infuriated her that the two could get a passing grade in the subject without putting in much effort when she had to struggle to pull an Acceptable even with all the work she put into her assignments. She was just that terrible in McGonagall's class.

"Fine, whatever, sure," Eve grumbled. "Meet me there in an hour. I'll make sure to grab some snacks from the kitchen."

Punctual as ever, Eve was on her way to The Spot an hour later, her bag packed to the brim with, textbooks, parchment, and wrapped lunches that the house elves had so generously given her.

The Spot was a small area on the grounds of Hogwarts that sat close to the Forbidden Forest, but still within bounds. It was hidden from view by a row of tall bushes that formed a sharp crescent shape, almost enclosing a eight foot diameter patch of grass. At the center stood a scraggly tree that always looked half-dead, yet it still managed to produce a few leaves each year despite its feeble frame. The three of them sent many fall and spring afternoons there, the time usually spent with Eve studying and the twins avoiding it at all costs.

Fred and George were already there as she entered The Spot. They were laying on the grass, chatting about Zonko's joke shop in Hogsmeade and what they should invest in buying come their first visit of the semester.

"Did you two even bother to bring anything?" Eve nearly shouted, noticing the lack of supplies on them.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," George sighed, he pulled a Transfiguration textbook from underneath his head, which he had been apparently using as a sort of pillow. "Got it right here."

"And parchment," Fred added. Pulling out a roll of very wrinkled parchment from his back pocket.

"And quills," they said, pulling them from the dirt where they had shoved the nibs in, like plucking flowers from the earth.

"It seems like you forgot ink," Eve said with a wry smile. "But lucky for you, I brought extra."

"Actually, we have that too," George confirmed. Pulling a small bottle from his pocket. "But we may need to nick some off of you as we're almost out."

"There is hope for you guys yet," Eve signed as she plopped down onto the grass. "Wow, practically no one is out here."

It was a bright and sunny afternoon in mid-September, but the three of them were the only ones enjoying the outdoors aside from another group of students that were walking in a large clump down by the lake.

"Scared of dementors, I suppose," Fred said, eyeing the tiny black specks that were floating in the distance. Their happiness-sucking powers could not be felt from such a far distance, but Eve still found herself shuddering.

"I hope they catch Sirius Black soon," Eve said. "Those dementors are just awful."

"Didn't the Daily Prophet say he was spotted in Dufftown?"

"I heard that's not far from here."

"It's a wonder that Dumbledore hasn't banned students from the grounds."

"He probably doesn't want to find out what would happen if he forced students to be locked inside for an entire semester."

"What a wise man."

"Hey, didn't you bring food?"

"Here," Eve said as she fished through her bag. She tossed them each a wrapped ham sandwich. "Courtesy of the lovely kitchen elves."

"Great. I'm starving!" Fred groaned.

"We just had breakfast…"

"We're growing boys. We need sustenance," George said defensively.

"Yeah we…" Fred was about to add something, but he suddenly grew quiet. His eyes darted around the Spot looking all around them.

"What?" Eve whispered, sensing his worry.

"Shh! Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Fred didn't have to answer as there was now the distinct sound of rustling coming from the bushes closest to the forest. The twins sat up as Eve scrambled to get her wand out of her pocket. Before she could grab a hold of it, however, a black blur lept from the bushes straight at George.

"Argh!" he cried, flailing his arms as the black mass pummeled him back to the ground. Finally getting her wand, Eve aimed at the creature. Then it barked at them.

It was a huge black dog.

It quickly lept off of George in aim of its real target - the ham sandwich. It quickly wolfed it down, wrapper and all. The trio sat in surprised silence as the canine finished its meager meal. George sat back up, not even bothering to wipe the messy paw prints off the front of his shirt.

With food in its stomach, the dog looked more aware of its surroundings. It eyed Fred and the sandwich he had dropped on the ground.

"I think it's still hungry," Eve said quietly. Hearing her voice, the dog cocked his head to look at her. It growled a deep, menacing sound that rumbled through its chest. Eve froze in fear; she had never been too keen on dogs. Back when her mom was alive, their neighbors had a small toy poodle that yip and barked like crazy, it always acted like it wanted to rip Eve's face off whenever she had gotten too close to it.

And this dog looked like it could and would easily do that to her right now.

"I- it's okay, dog," Eve stuttered. "You're just scared and hungry. Here, have my sandwich." She tossed her lunch to the dog, hoping to distract it, so she could hastily escape. The dog looked at her with an expression that she could only guess to be confused, but it stopped growling at her and went for the sandwich.

Eve took the opportunity to stand. Fred and George had finally stood and gotten ahold of their wands and were not pointing them directly at the dog.

"If it takes a single step towards you, we'll stun it," Fred said in a hushed voice.

The dog finished the sandwich just as quickly as the first one, but this time after it finished, it sat down on its haunches and stared at them. Finally able to get a good look at it, Eve could see that its dark fur was a matted mess that nearly hid its emaciated form.

"Fred, give it your sandwich," Eve said as evenly as possible, trying not to anger it again. The Weasley modded and gingerly kicked the sandwich towards it.

"Here dog."

Instead of leaping again, the dog slowly stood up and wandered over to the sandwich. This time, it tried to tear through the paper first, having learned a lesson from the previous two meals. There was far less paper stuck to the sandwich as it chowed it down.

"It looks like it hasn't had a proper meal in months, maybe even its whole life," Eve said sadly. She may not have liked dogs much, but that didn't mean she wanted them to suffer.

"It's massive," Fred gasped as the dog sat back down.

"It looks...it looks like a Grim."

"The cursed church dog?" Eve hissed. "Unless Hogwarts has a hidden cemetery around here, I doubt it. Besides, Grims are ghosts and ghosts don't eat."

"True," George sighed. "Can't help but think about it though. Uncle Billius saw one and died the next day." The dog tilted its mangy head and barked again. "Wonder where it came from."

"Probably just a stray that's been wandering around for ages," she said. Eve highly doubted the dog had an owner, and if it did, it was being severely neglected.

"Yeah, it doesn't seem too keen on people," Fred said as he slowly lowered his wand. "I guess it's alright now though." The dog's tail wagged slightly as it gazed at the boy.

"It probably smelled our lunch and came running. I'm surprised it can stand with how bony it looks." George deduced. "Maybe we should give it more?"

"I don't have anything else," Eve shrugged, pointing at her bag.

"Maybe we should take it to the school and get it cleaned up."

"Dogs aren't allowed in Hogwarts, too many pet cats."

"Maybe we could bring it to Hagrid."

"Do you think it would get along with Fang?"

"I dunno, worth a shot though...hey!" Apparently, the stray had found their conversation and was already darting back to the woods as quickly as it had come.

"Oh, well," George shrugged, finally taking the time to clean off his shirt with a quick cleaning spell. "Guess it got what it wanted." They watched as the mysterious dog disappeared into the trees.

"I wonder if it will come back."

"Well, we did feed it. It might return."

"Maybe I'll bring some more food out tomorrow after class. I'd feel bad if it starved to death out there."

That notion had proven to be difficult to carry out the next day, as Eve found that Monday to be exceedingly trying.

It started off with walking into the common room at seven in the morning, where she was met with a barrage of congratulations and compliments from students she had never spoken to before.

"I saw the tryouts, you were wicked good."

"I never thought of you to be the Quidditch type, but congrats anyways."

"Hufflepuff hasn't had a female Beater in years."

"Really, Snape? Wow."

It was like Eve had stepped into another reality, one where being Severus Snape's daughter didn't automatically ostracize her from most of the student body. Being in Hufflepuff, no one had been explicitly rude or mean to her, but they had always given her a wide berth. Sure, she was used to the occasional hello from her fellow badgers and the friendly-enough but distant attitude of her roommates, but this was on a whole different level.

"Wow, congratulations," Kaori Conway, her quietest roommate said from behind her.

"Errr...thanks," Eve managed to sputter.

"I told you you'd make the cut!" Nancy exclaimed as she threw arm arm over her in a half-hug like they had been friends for years. Eve winced slightly and leaned away with as much space as she could.

"W-what about you?' Eve asked, escaping from the other girl's grasp

"Nah, I made reserves," she shrugged with a smile - a stark contrast from her attitude a few days before. "It's you and Harford this year, which is probably for the best. I do have my O.W.L.S this year; gotta do a lot of studying. You don't have to attend every practice when you're on reserve."

If that hadn't been strange enough, dealing with the odd looks from the students in the other houses as the word spread. Eve was already exhausted as she sat down to breakfast. The worst part of school was that anything even remotely different was treated like juicy gossip for at least a day or two. Eve just hoped it would fizzle out quickly; it had been hard enough when she was made a spectacle for merely existing in her first year.

Eve avoided looking at the staff table. She knew if the students were talking about it, the professors probably already knew it too. Eve was not sure she was ready to talk to her father about it.

"Congrats on making the team," Cedric smiled as he sat next to her. "You'll be quite the asset. You will accept, won't you?"

"I thought it was already decided for me," Eve mumbled into her oatmeal.

Cedric frowned.

"Look, I may have coerced you into trying out, but I won't force you to play if you really don't want to. I just wanted to see if I could get you to take the plunge."

Eve had been on the fence about the whole idea after tryouts - part of her was hoping she hadn't made the cut, while the other kinda wanted to see her name on the Quidditch Team posting.

"I'll do it," Eve said. Deciding for herself in the moment. "But if I don't like it, I won't join again next year and you won't be able to convince me again."

"That's more than fair," the Quidditch Captain nodded as he bit into a slice of bacon. He chewed for a moment then continued. "Then I'll see you for our first training Thursday evening."

"Yeah, I suppose you will."

Classes were a blur as Eve's head swam in the depths of uncertainty of her decision. She liked batting at bludgers for fun, but was she ready to do it competitively? Had she really said yes just to impress the cutest boy in her house?

It was the conversation of the third year Hufflepuffs at the dinner table that pulled her out of her endless streams of thought.

"Defense had to be the best class this year. I really like the Riddikulus spell." Hanna Abbot said between bites.

"I can't believe I'm so afraid of ghouls. I never had to really think about what I feared most before. Did you see what I did to it?" Amelia Bones added.

"I heard that in the Gryffindor class, Longbottom absolutely refused to participate," Boris Price whispered. The group giggled.

"He's probably afraid of everything," another boy chuckled. Eve could feel her rage building as they continued to make fun of her friend.

"I'd be afraid of a lot too," Eve said, breaking up their laughter. "If I had gone through what he has." She knew that anyone who grew up in the wizarding world knew what happened to the Longbottoms during the war against You-Know-Who. It wasn't something that was talked about, but it wasn't a secret either. Price and the other boy - both Muggleborns - looked thoroughly confused. The girls, however, became very quiet. Abbot's ears had become bright red and Bones stared down at her fingernails to avoid eye contact.

Their section of the dinner table was awkwardly silent for a while until the younger group got up to leave, leaving Eve alone, which she was thankful for. But she didn't feel alone for long, because she could feel someone staring at her. She spared a knowing glance at the staff table as the problem gnawing for her attention had made itself well and truly known. Eve hadn't had Potions scheduled for the day, but she made it a point to go see her father shortly. It was better to rip the proverbial band-aid quickly than to have him seek her out.

After dinner, Eve knocked on the door to her father's office and braced herself for the conversation to come.

"Enter," she heard his stern voice reply from within. Not allowing herself time for hesitation, Eve quickly opened the door.

"Evageline," her father greeted her as he looked up from his papers. Eve wanted to remind him -for the hundredth time- not to call her that, but she knew now was not the time.

"So, I made the Quidditch team," she blurted out.

"Yes, so I've heard," her Professor Snape said coolly. "So good of you to mention wanting to try out. It was a bit embarrassing to have Pomona ask me if I was excited that my daughter had made the Hufflepuff Quidditch team when I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't even planning to... I was asked just the other day. I figured it wouldn't hurt to humor them."

"Yes, I'm sure trying for a Beater position didn't hurt you at all," he father sneered. "Tell me, how many bones did you break during those trials?"

"Just my shoulder…" she found herself answering in almost a whisper.

"Well, my mistake. I'm sure everything went splendidly then."

Eve frowned. Not liking the increasingly irritated expression that was forming on her father's face.

"I really am sorry. I really should have said something. I know your thoughts on the sport, I should have least brought it up to you. I'll quit if that's what you want…"

Her father sighed and set down his quill, the irritation falling from his features..

"No, it isn't about what I want. I do want you to be safe, but I'm not not going to stop you from living your life either...within reason, that is," he said. "If this is something you really want to do, I'm not going to strongarm you into a different decision. But in the future, if you're going to do something that will impact your life, do let me know, because as long as you're under my care, I should be made aware of these things."

Eve let go of the breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. Contrary to his sharp and callous teaching methods as a professor, he was a fair parent. Strict, but fair.

"Yes sir."

"But I will have something to say about it if your grades slip," he added. "Or if you sustain too many head injuries."

"I'll try not to use my head as a bat."

"That's not funny, Evageline."

"Yes sir."

"On a different note," her father said after a short silence fell between them. "I know you've probably had an...interesting day, but I did want to ask you a question."

"Yes...sir?" Eve asked.

"Have you been bored in my classes?" Eve tilted her head in confusion.

"Well, it's only been the first week of classes. I can't gage a single class of making a Shrinking Solution as being boring."

"I meant in general," he explained. "Honestly, I can't remember a time I've actually seen you pay attention in my class."

Eve flushed.

"Have I really been that bad?"

"Exceedingly so, but your essays are thorough and your brewing skills are excellent, so I can't exactly punish you for it."

"Well, I read ahead…" Eve shrugged. "Lots of students do."

"Yet they still manage to take notes when I am teaching."

"I take notes!" Eve huffed.

"Where? In the notebook you never bring to class?"

"No...I just scribble anything I need in my textbook. They're easier to find that way."

"I see…" he said pensively as his words trailed off. Her father seemed lost in thought for a moment, leaving Eve to ponder his words before he continued. "Obviously, it seems that the current curriculum is boring to you. So I'm going to make sure you are challenged."

"Challenged?"

The Potions professor flicked his wand, conjuring a textbook in front of her. Eve snatched the book from the air to read the cover. Standard Potions: Year 5. Eve had skimmed through it once or twice out of curiosity, but she had far less interest in coursework books when there were plenty of academic articles and interest pieces on the subject she so loved.

"Think of this as an additional resource to your current classes. I fully expect you to pull information from it to write your essays for my class," he explained. "Then at the end of the year, you will sit your Potions O.W.L early."

"What?" Eve gasped, wondering if she had even heard him correctly. "Is that even allowed?"

"It is, though I'll admit that it's uncommon. Any O.W.L test taken outside of the standard testing time of the fifth year incurs a fee, and a hefty one at that," he explained. "You also need the recommendation of a professor and a guardian to take the test early."

"Should be easy then," Eve said with exasperation. "Since you're both my father and professor."

"To avoid accusations of nepotism, Professor Sprout has graciously accepted your to be your teacher recommendation, as she too is qualified to teach Potions should the need arise."

Eve frowned, pondering over the situation.

"If I pass my O.W.L, won't I be a year ahead of my classmates?" Eve questioned. "Won't that mess with my class schedule?"

"Accommodations can be arranged," he said simply. "I suggest approaching Professor McGonagal about her experience, as she sat her Transfiguration O.W.L and N.E.W.T a year early."

Eve stood there, stunned. Wrapping her head around the situation. She loved Potions and knew she was bloody good at it, but she didn't know if she was take-the-O.W.L.-a-year-early good.

"What if I take the test this spring and fail?" Eve knew that in order to "pass," she would have to receive nothing less than an "Outstanding" on her O.W.L, as her father only accepted the students with the highest possible scores to continue taking his class.

"Then you'll take it again next year with your year-mates. I'm asking you to try, Evangeline. It is not an end-all situation. But if you do fail, I will fully expect you to pay apt attention in my classes. Your arrogance in your talent can lead to careless mistakes than can and will get you killed in a lab."

"And if I pass?" Eve asked, placing a hand on her hip, annoyed that she was even being considered arrogant.

"Then perhaps sitting in a N.E.W.T class a year early will humble you. Even if you manage an O on the exam, I can assure you that the sixth year classes will be significantly more difficult," her father smirked, leaving Eve to fall into silence as she was at a loss on how to respond.

"You have the potential to be a truly exceptional Potioneer or Master if you so choose. I'm giving you the opportunity to prove it."

Eve's thoughts were buzzing as she walked up the dungeon steps to the first floor. The words of Cedric and her father haunted her mind.

"...you'll try your best?"

"I'm asking you to try, Evangeline."

"Argh!' Eve cried out in frustration, spooking a herd of wild horses in a painting she was walking past. She could hear them neigh and whine as they disappeared over one of the many green hills in the scenic design.

"Why can't everyone just leave me alone?!" she screamed to herself. Her first week back at school and she was suddenly being asked to become more than she was. Eve wasn't an extraordinary Beater or a Potions prodigy. She was just Eve, a quiet shadow in the Hufflepuff house. An unassuming, average girl that spent her days managing two Gryffindor knuckleheads and pretending she wasn't related to the school's Potions Master. Now suddenly, the spotlight was on her and she was terrified of it.

It wasn't until she had passed the kitchens and the remnant of their delicious dinner had wafted under nose that Eve remembered that there was a starving dog somewhere nearby that she had promised herself she was going to try and feed again.

Holding off her internal struggle for the moment, Eve approached the painting that featured nothing but a large bowl of fruit. She extended a hand and tickled the only pair in the arrangement. It let out a little chuckle as it morphed into a door handle, providing her access to the kitchens.

The house elves were busy, as to be expected an hour after suppertime. Eve quietly made her way a few steps in, trying to to bother any of them as they ran around in a frenzy.

"Is there anything you be needing, Miss?" a small, wrinkly house elf asked her from a countertop nearby. The little elf was cleaning out a gigantic bowl that Eve could have easily fit into.

"I don't want to bother anyone. I just wanted to make a quick sandwich for myself, I forgot to eat dinner, you see," Eve said, feeling a bit put off about lying to the house elves, but they did work for the school and telling them anything that might be seen as rule-breaking was risky. They did work for Hogwarts, afterall.

The elf looked relieved that she wasn't asking for anything from her directly.

"Right theres Miss," she said pointing a shriveled finger over to Eve's left where a few loaves of bread sat- perfectly preserved leftovers from lunch. "Lots of bread and toppings and con-dee-mints."

"Thank you."

Eve threw a variety of meats between two large slices of bread. It was an abomination of ham, turkey, salami and chicken - she avoided the cheese and vegetables as she wasn't sure a dog would ordinarily want to consume those things - that she struggled to fit together as the concoction tried desperately to fall apart. Wrapping proved to be even more difficult.

"Eve, what are you doing here?"

Jumping in surprise, Eve turned to see Neville, who had just stepped into the kitchen.

"Taking a nap, obviously," she teased. "What are you doing here?"

"I missed dinner," Neville muttered. "I-wasn't feeling well." Eve opened her mouth to prod for more details, but the boy continued talking.

"Congratulations on making the Quidditch team!" hs smiled. "Lots of people have been talking about it. I didn't know you were going to try out."

"Yeah, me neither," Eve said dryly as she continued to struggle wrapping the sandwich. If Neville was confused by her answer, he didn't address it.

"What did Professor Snape say about it?"

"He said he'll tolerate it...He said some other things too. Maybe I'll tell you about it later, but I'm still thinking things through."

"Oh, well that's good. I guess." Neville joined her at the counter and began preparing his own sandwich. "You aren't going to eat that, are you?" he added, pointing at the monstrosity she had created.

"Maybe, maybe not." Eve wasn't exactly sure why she didn't tell the boy about the wild dog, but she told herself she would tell him later, when there weren't house elves nearby.

"On second thought, I don't want to know." Neville knew that she had been behind the scenes for several of Fred and George's pranks. In his eyes, she could very well be part of another devious plot.

"That's the spirit," Eve smiled, finally getting the sandwich under control. She watched as her friend slowly coated his bread with a healthy amount of peanut butter.

"So," she said cautiously. "I heard your class faced a Boggart in Defense." She watched as Neville nearly dropped the jam jar.

"Yeah, but not me," Neville said knowingly. "Is that what you're asking?"

"Hey, I think it's fine that you didn't do it. You shouldn't be forced to face something like that if you don't want to."

Neville was frustrated and she could see that his eyes looked a bit glassy.

"I thought it might be one of them...those people...that hurt my parents. But I don't - I don't know what they even look like," he said with a sniff. "And I was scared that….Well, that the Boggart would take the form of something I did know instead."

The boy's shoulder's drooped and he let out a heavy sigh.

"I thought that maybe...maybe it would end up looking like…" his voice got quiet. "Like Professor Snape."

"Oh Nev..." she whispered. "I didn't realize that he still…"

"I know - I know it's stupid," he said. "I know you've told me to just ignore him and your advice has really helped me in his classes. Really. But he can be so…"

"Horrid?" Eve offered.

"Yes. He still gives me nightmares sometimes...and I didn't want you to hear from the rest of the school that my worst fear is your dad."

Eve had half a mind to march right back down to the dungeons and confront her father for the second time in one day, but she knew Neville would never forgive her if she did that. Looking at the young teen staring at his dinner, she couldn't help but see the distraught first year she had seen crying over his Potions textbook in the library two years ago.

He had been afraid of her too, as she was the miniature clone of his most-feared teacher. If he had been outright hateful towards her-like some other students-she would have left him to fail on his own. But his fear fueled her to try and change his mind. It had taken some time, but he eventually raised his opinion of her and his Potions grade.

"I wouldn't have been mad if it had," Eve said truthfully. She would have been just as sad as she was right now.

"Professor Snape probably would have been."

That was true.

"I'm sorry you were put in that position."

"Why? It's not your fault."

"No, but I'm still sorry." Eve packed the wrapped sandwich into her bookbag. "Listen, I've got a few things I've got to get done before curfew. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah...alright," Neville nodded. With a heavy mind and now a heavy heart, Eve slipped out of the kitchen as quietly as she had come.

Ten minutes later, Eve found herself back at The Spot. The Scotland mountains were beginning to hide the setting sun, causing darkness to quickly fall on the school in the valley. Eve shivered, as she noticed no one else was on the grounds, not that anyone would want to be out as it darkened with those cloaked monsters flying around. She carried her wand in one hand, in case she needed light on the way back or had to defend herself if the dog decided she was a threat again.

But The Spot was also devoid of life as she entered it, with absolutely no sign of the supposed Grim being anywhere nearby.

Eve whistled. She did not expect the dog to come running, but she figured the sound and smell of food might capture its attention if it was still hanging around. The grounds were eerily quiet and the Forbidden Forest added nothing but the sound of branches scraping each other as they danced in the light wind.

"Ah well," Eve said to the open air. She set the sandwich just outside the row of bushes, certain that if the dog didn't come back to eat it, something else would. Scanning the tree line one last time, Eve turned back towards the castle.

After she had made it several meters away, she swore she heard the sound of rustling bushes and the crack of a twig, but she dared not turn to look for fear she would scare off whatever was walking around.

A/N: Yes...there is the ongoing plot. I've finally found it!

Happy Valentine's Day!


End file.
